(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a washing machine. More particularly, it relates to a washing machine having a driving device which rotates a water agitating machine, installed within a spin basket.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
A common-type washing machine includes a microcomputer which holds a specific program to control the overall operation of the washing machine, i.e. washing, rinsing, hydro-extracting, and draining processes, and a control panel through which a user selects one of the above-described processes. Accordingly, once the user selects the desired process, clothes are washed automatically according to the program held in the microcomputer.
As shown in FIG. 1, the washing machine has a housing 10, a tub 20 mounted within the housing 10 to contain water, a spin basket 30 rotatably installed in the tub 20, and an agitator 40 installed on the bottom of the spin basket 30 to rotate forward and reversely.
The agitator 40 consists of a body 41, a blade assembly 42 comprised of a plurality of blades radially formed on the top of the body 41, and a wash baton 43 installed on the center of body 41 and protruding upward. The agitator 40 generates the suds and tumbles the clothes through the water by agitation during the washing and rinsing steps.
A driving device 60 is installed on the bottom of the tub 20 to rotate the agitator 40 and the spin basket 30. The driving device 60 includes a motor 61 that generates rotating force, and a power transmission 62 which selectively transmits the rotating force, produced by the motor 61, to the agitator 40 and the spin basket 30 by way of a belt 63. A rotating shaft 50 is provided between the power transmission 62 and the agitator 40, and the agitator 40 rotates about the rotating shaft 50.
Once the motor 61 is put into action after clothes and water are respectively placed into the conventional washing machine's spin basket 30 and tub 20, the agitator 40 rotates forward and reversely, and the laundry is agitated through the water. Accordingly, soil is removed from the laundry as the laundry rubs against the inner wall of the spin basket and the wash baton 43 by the water current. In the hydro-extracting process the spin basket 30 rotates at high speeds and removes excess water from the clothes, thus leaving the clothes only damp. The program that controls these washing steps is stored in the microcomputer, as described previously.
According to the conventional washing machine, the agitator 40 is of simple construction, as described above, the blade assembly 42 having the plurality of blades radially formed on the top of its body 41, and the wash baton 43 integrally formed on the center of the blade assembly 42, protruding upward therefrom, in order to create the water current. Since the rotational direction of the laundry is the same as that of the agitator during the washing and rinsing steps, the effect of friction between the laundry and the water is small, so the conventional washing machine cannot assure thorough cleansing action.